Day 1 #MWC2019 Automotive Announcements: Qualcomm, Linker & Savari

As expected there were many more announcements today from Mobile World Congress. Continental announced blockchain commerce. We have announcements from Qualcomm, Linker and Savari.

Qualcomm

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated ), announced today the latest additions to its portfolio of Qualcomm® Automotive Wireless Solutions for next generation connected vehicles — the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Automotive 4G Platform and the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Automotive 5G Platform. The Snapdragon Automotive 4G and 5G Platforms feature integrated C-V2X direct communications, high-precision multi-frequency global navigation satellite system (HP-GNSS) and RF Front-End (RFFE) functionalities to support major operators across key spectrum bands globally. With these functionalities, the Snapdragon Automotive 4G and 5G Platforms are designed to provide unmatched support for rich in-vehicle experiences, including dual SIM dual active (DSDA) (included on the Snapdragon Automotive 5G Platform), precise positioning for lane level navigation accuracy, multi-gigabit cloud connectivity, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-roadside infrastructure (V2I) communications for safety, high bandwidth low latency teleoperations support, each of which are key requirements for automotive safety, platooning, autonomous, and always-connected driving experiences. The new Snapdragon Automotive 4G and 5G Platforms are expected to sample later this year and are planned for production vehicles in 2021. Automakers will also have an opportunity to access the new platforms through the 2nd generation Qualcomm®Connected Car Reference Design (CCRD) anticipated to be available 2H this year.

Qualcomm also announced the new Qualcomm® Automotive Wi-Fi 6 chip, the QCA6696, bringing the next generation of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® connectivity to the automotive industry. Complementing the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Automotive 4G and 5G Platforms, the QCA6696 is Qualcomm Technologies’ most advanced Wi-Fi solution designed to offer fast, secure and efficient Wi-Fi connectivity, to meet consumer demands for greater robustness and reduced latency when operating in congested and dense environments. The QCA6696 features dual Wi-Fi 6 multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) access points designed to support Gigabit in-car hotspot and to deliver efficient Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the vehicle, supporting ultra-high definition (ultra-HD) video streaming on multiple displays, screen mirroring from compatible devices and wireless back-up cameras, as well as Bluetooth 5.1 support and Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive audio to deliver high fidelity voice and streaming audio support. The QCA6696 chip also features full MIMO client capability designed to extend range at high data rates for connecting to external access points for automotive services, such as vehicle diagnostics, software updates and automatic check-ins when pulling up to dealerships.

Qualcomm and Bosch

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), and Robert Bosch GmbH, today announced a research collaboration focused on 5G NR technology applications for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

With support for private 5G NR networks available in the first 5G NR standard release – 3GPP release 15 – and with the 3GPP roadmap including new functionality like enhanced Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (eURLLC) in the upcoming release 16, Qualcomm Technologies and Bosch believe that the wide range of connectivity services 5G NR provides will be an essential element in the smart, connected factories of Industry 4.0.

The two companies have already completed a joint study of radio channels for industrial environments to characterize the unique radio characteristics of industrial locations, with Qualcomm Technologies contributing its world-class expertise in 5G NR and Bosch providing its decades of experience in industrial automation & technology. The industrial radio channel characterization is the first step in this collaboration and the companies also plan to conduct an over-the-air trial with 5G NR industrial IoT applications in one of Bosch’s manufacturing plants. This trial will focus on the applicability of Release 15 5G-NR to existing industrial use cases and the evaluation of the new class of URLLC services, an addition to 5G NR’s wide range of services to control mission critical machinery over a wireless industrial Ethernet. The trial will also explore the tight integration of 5G NR with industrial networks and machines.

Qualcomm Technologies and Bosch are also collaborating as members of the 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) to foster developing 5G technologies that address industrial requirements.

Linker AI Auto-Labeling

Linker Networks Inc. (“Linker”) today announced the launch of their service to deliver world-class AI based auto-labeling with continuous learning for the autonomous driving industry. Linker’s auto-labeling technology integrated with Microsoft Azure cloud services delivers a seamless and scalable solution to pre-process datasets used for machine learning in vertically integrated industries like Autonomous Driving, Manufacturing, Public Safety and Medical Imaging. The service will be generally available by June 2019.

Pre-processing dataset for AI Machine Learning is currently labor intensive, time consuming and highly customized to individual labeling requirements. In order to train real-time inference models for autonomous driving today, customers manual-label their data sets. This is not only expensive, but difficult to replicate for new data and object recognition scenarios.

Savari

Savari, Inc., a Silicon Valley based auto tech company, today announced a collaboration with leading test equipment manufacturer Rohde & Schwarz on joint C-V2X interoperability testing. Savari’s proven C-V2X middleware has been selected to run on device-under-test (DUT) to demonstrate the outstanding performance and versatility of the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester for 3GPP LTE-V2X PC5 interoperability testing. Rohde & Schwarz has expanded the capabilities of its R&S CMW500 platform and R&S SMBV100A/B GNSS simulator to operate with a software tool for simulation, development and test of C-V2X-based communication applications. The solution covers 3GPP Radio Access Layers for C-V2X Mode 4 and region specific ITS protocol layers and enables engineers to easily verify critical end-to-end safety-related C-V2X scenarios in a lab environment.

The DUT supports Savari’s tablet-based HMI which makes the interoperability testing transparent to a customer and shows the variety of applications available with Savari’s MobiWAVE® V2X Software Stack, supporting WAVE, ETSI and CSAE regional variants.